1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a moving apparatus. More particularly, the present invention relates to a moving apparatus and a method of self-direction testing and self-direction correction thereof.
2. Description of Related Art
In order to enable a moving apparatus to change its current direction to a target direction, various direction navigation technologies have been developed and applied in the moving apparatus. The moving apparatus mentioned herein refers to a robot that moves by wheels without a fixed track, such as, an automobile, a security robot that is capable of going on patrol automatically, and a vacuum cleaner robot that is capable of cleaning a room automatically.
The current direction navigation technology determines the current direction of the moving apparatus based on the direction information provided by an electronic compass installed on the moving apparatus. However, with regard to the moving apparatus using the electronic compass for direction navigation, it is an unavoidable problem that a magnetic field of a surrounding environment causes interferences to the electronic compass, thereby affecting the accuracy and reliability of the direction navigation of the moving apparatus, and thus possibly causing unexpected accidents or damages.
Considering the current solution to the problem that the direction navigation of the electronic compass is inaccurate due to the magnetic field interference, another direction measuring unit free from the magnetic field interference, e.g., a gyroscope or an optical encoder, is usually adopted to form a double-feedback system for the direction navigation data of the moving apparatus, together with the electronic compass. However, although the assistant direction measuring unit may correct a direction signal for the electronic compass, the gyroscope causes an additional cost, and the optical encoder not only increases the cost, but also it is complicated for being designed and integrated into the electronic compass.